Strawberry Crumble Bars
Grab a basket of fresh strawberries and make this one-bowl healthy treat together with your kids this week! Since they are soft, strawberries are an easy fruit for kids to cut into pieces using an ordinary kitchen knife; they can also measure, mix. and stir.
Parents, emphasize using the senses to explore the strawberries with your child while you cook together. Use your eyes (seeds are on the outside!), your nose (fragrant!), your fingers (does it feel rough or smooth?) and your mouth (do the smaller strawberries taste sweeter than the bigger ones?). It can take up to 20 exposures for kids to learn to like a fruit or vegetable — looking, touching, and smelling all count as exposures.
Kids can
Cut
Measure
Mix
Press the crust together
Scatter the topping
Ingredients
For the crust and topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt 11/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
For the strawberry filling:
2 pints fresh strawberries (about 3 cups diced)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon corn starch (sub tapioca starch or flour)
Tools
8×8 inch square baking pan
Parchment paper
1 medium-sized mixing bowls
Measuring spoons and cups
Knife
Wooden spoon
Spatula
Process
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and oats in a medium size bowl.
4. Add the melted butter and vanilla to the oat/flour mixture, and stir until clumps form.
6. Set aside 1 cup of crumble mixture to use as the topping.
7. Press the rest of the crumble mixture evenly in the bottom of the parchment lined pan.
5. Using the same bowl you used to make the crumble (you don’t need to wash it!), mix together the diced berries, brown sugar, and corn starch.
8. Spread the strawberry mixture over the crumble mixture.
9. Scatter remaining cup of the crumble mixture over the strawberries.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and crisp portion is golden.
11. Allow to cool COMPLETELY before removing bars from the pan and cutting into squares (otherwise they will fall apart).